No active hurricanes threatening Newport right now

Could the next one hit soon? 137 hurricanes have impacted the Newport area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

137
Hurricanes affecting Newport area
2021
Most recent
140 kt
Strongest peak winds
9 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Newport’s exposed Atlantic shoreline and narrow peninsula geography make storm surge and coastal flooding the chief hurricane hazards, with powerful storms such as Hurricane Ida (2021) and Florence (2018) demonstrating how surge and heavy winds can produce major damage even when the storm center remains offshore.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Newport area — including Middletown, Jamestown, Portsmouth, Saunderstown, Little Compton, Prudence Island, Narragansett, Adamsville. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Newport area?

Distribution of 137 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Newport, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
3 M
13 J
11 J
35 A
47 S
23 O
4 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Newport area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 22 mi
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 26 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 83 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 140 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 195 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 113 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 170 mi
2017 JOSE Cat 4 135 kt 163 mi
2017 NATE Cat 1 80 kt 190 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 69 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 123 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 115 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 161 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 34 mi
2007 NOEL Cat 1 75 kt 164 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2007 that came within 200 miles of Newport. Includes storms whose center stayed offshore or hit nearby cities — wind, surge, and rainfall impacts extend far beyond the storm's path.

All-time closest approaches to Newport

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1991 BOB Cat 3 100 kt 9 mi Aug 19, 1991
1916 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 9 mi Jul 21, 1916
1944 UNNAMED Cat 5 140 kt 17 mi Sep 15, 1944
1872 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 20 mi Oct 27, 1872
2004 HERMINE TS 50 kt 21 mi Aug 31, 2004
1869 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 22 mi Sep 08, 1869
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 22 mi Jul 09, 2021
2004 CHARLEY Cat 4 130 kt 24 mi Aug 15, 2004
1888 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 26 mi Sep 12, 1888
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 26 mi Aug 22, 2021
Showing the 10 closest of 137 total storms within 150 mi of Newport since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Newport

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (Newport County and surrounding areas).
  2. Set up alerts ahead of time. During an active storm, watches and warnings change every six hours. Email or text alerts from TropicalInfo give you the official NHC update the moment it's posted, with a plain-language summary.
  3. Prep your supplies before the storm is named. Stores empty out within hours of a watch. The 72-hour rule: water, food, batteries, fuel, medications, important documents. Our alerts can notify you of a storm long before it makes the news — giving you more time to get what you need before the panic-buying starts.
  4. Follow the cone, not the line. The forecast track is a best estimate — the cone shows where the center is likely to go. Impacts extend hundreds of miles from the center.

Set up free location-based alerts for Newport

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Newport (41.5045°N, 71.3035°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Newport — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.